From 2 to 50,000 members

Last Friday we threw a party at our office in Vancouver to celebrate Poparide reaching 50,000 members. We had friends, members, partners and investors show up and we had a blast!

As I was looking at the people in the room, I realized how unlikely it would be for them to meet under normal circumstances. Our lawyers and investors were mingling with our members, taking photos at our photo booth while our friends’ kids were dancing along to a jazz trio (check them out, they’re pretty awesome).

But this happens every day on Poparide. Total strangers meet and get to know each other by sharing rides. They come from different cultures, backgrounds and social contexts—and yet—they have something in common: they all love to travel and share experiences.

This is what made us start this project seven years ago. We loved turning strangers into ski buddies by sharing a ride to Whistler. In the beginning, it was only two of us and we had no idea we’d reach 1,000 members in our first ski season. Today, over 50,000 have joined Poparide, and we’re very humbled to have so many people share our vision.

But the world has changed and we are now part of a growing industry called the “Sharing Economy”. By monetizing trust using technology, some companies have proven it’s possible to create very scalable businesses based on capitalizing underused assets, for better or for worst.

As we grow up in the “tech world” and aspire to one day help millions of people travel together, let us not forget where we come from and what our mission is.

Let us bring travel to more people, and connect many more communities together.

Let us create more real-life, human connections in a world where technology makes us feel increasingly disconnected.

Let us reduce our impact on the environment by improving existing systems and inventing new ones.

Let us grow this community from our hearts and help many more people discover the wonders of travel.

So, this is to you — our 50,000 members — and to the ones that will join in the future: thank you for trusting us, trusting each other, and trusting that together we can make travel more social, more accessible and more sustainable for everyone.